Andrew Lincoln almost didn’t audition for Rick Grimes!

English actor Andrew Lincoln came into prominence with shows like This Life and Teachers, before becoming popular because of his role in the Christmas rom-com, Love Actually (2003). He played the role of a man in love with his best friend’s wife, opposite Kiera Knightley, and his confession was one for the books. That day, we all fell in love with Mark, and in extension, Andrew Lincoln.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes | The Walking Dead
But after making his Mark with the rom-com, Lincoln took a drastic turn, when he landed the AMC show, The Walking Dead. Playing the lead role of Rick Grimes, the actor became a household name, as he walked through a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic world with a g*n slung on his shoulder.

How Andrew Lincoln Got The Part of Rick Grimes

The protagonist of The Walking Dead series, Rick Grimes is a man who leads. After waking from a coma, and finding the world is overrun by zombies, he quickly adapts to his surroundings and soon becomes someone who others look up to.

Andrew Lincoln had flew in from London to audition for the role after he got the script for the show. Jon Bernthal, who has already been cast as Shane – Rick’s former police partner and best friend, did a scene with his during the audition.

Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead
During the audition, Lincoln kept hearing a noise, and thought it was a car engine. Turned out, it was Bernthal’s dog, that ended up sleeping in a car while the two were auditioning. Lincoln thought he wouldn’t get the part after that, saying:

“I thought, ‘I’m never going to get this job.’”

But as luck would have it, soon after he landed in England after the audition, he for the call saying he had the part. After staring with approximately $92,000 per episode, Lincoln would go on to earn $650,000 per episode in the later seasons (via The Things), becoming one of the highest-paid actors on television at the time.

Andrew Lincoln Almost Didn’t Audition for The Walking Dead

Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Andrew Lincoln had a movie streamlined when AMC was looking at possible candidate to join The Walking Dead cast. But his daughter was born right when the movie was about to go into production, and the actor decided to let the project go in favor of being with his family. Soon after, the script for TWD landed on his lap, and seeing Frank Darabont’s name in the pages as the developer of the show, Lincoln decided to give it a try.

He told The Hollywood Reporter:

“They’d been trying to find Rick for a long time and I was just about to film a movie in England but had to pull out because my son was born a bit early and when my daughter was born, I made a vow not to do that ever again.”

He further added:

“Then I had to fly out to L.A. for a screen test for The Walking Dead. I got a friend to replace me in this movie and the next day, this script came through from AMC. I must have been on their radar with Frank and he wanted me to test. It was incredible.”

Andrew Lincoln remained the main protagonist of the show until season 8, after which Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon took over. The Walking Dead is available for streaming on Netflix.